FM10 I took Bromley from Blue Square South to League One within 5 seasons, before giving up due to the board restricting me everywhere I turned.
FM11 I then took Crystal Palace from Championship to winning the Champions League within 7 seasons, but that kind of lost it's appeal after a while for some reason.
FM12 took me to Wolves (starting Premier League) as I took them to Premier League glory 5 years in a row from around 2018 onwards - the game is still going - but just haven't been able to win the Champions League, get the Molineux upgraded past 50,000 seats, or get a new stadium built.
FM13 will most likely take me to Nottingham Forest or Portsmouth - a huge difference between the two, yes, but that's the fun of it. See if you can do it with the money, and then work out if you're capable of doing it with no finances and no decent players. Sure, you may get a couple relegations, but the key is to bounce back.
Side Note; No, I've never been relegated on Football Manager.